Scaleless Summer Update

August 20, 2012

With just a little over 4 weeks left in my second Scaleless Summer, I wanted to reflect on summer thus far and to give y’all a little peek as to what I’ve been up to. So here it is, my scaleless summer update.

Oh beer, how I love thee all year round in the summer time! OK, back to my Scaleless Summer. So at the beginning of the summer my focus was my wedding and my wedding dress. My goal leading up to the wedding was not to lose weight but instead to feel as great as possible in my wedding dress. I watched what I ate, focusing on the Tone It Up plan and my workouts, but also enjoyed the social aspects of the lead up to the wedding… aka my bachelorette party, showers, time with my sister, and week of wedding events. Looking back over my Countdown to Wedding Diet, I am really happy with what I ate and of course how I felt in my dress. Scaleless Summer weeks 1 and 2 were a success!

The next 4 weeks of my Scaleless Summer were spent touring Europe! Neal and I ate some pretty awesome and unhealthy food on our honeymoon but we walked so much that it honestly cancelled itself out! I also focused on eating fruits and veggies when possible and was determined to never use public transportation when touring the cities. Walking was my diet’s best friend while in Europe. Scaleless Summer weeks 3-5 were freakin’ awesome, no regrets!

The transition back from our honeymoon has gone pretty well, though it has been difficult for me to get into a consistent routine. Workouts have been the least consistent, especially as I pulled out my back a week after returning from Europe. Genius I tell you. Recovering from that injury was difficult. I was eager to get out and about, so sitting down all day and resting was not my idea of fun. Thankfully after about 2 weeks I was back in business (no pun intended). I made a running plan, looked at the classes being offered at the gym, and looked to reschedule my tap dance lessons. Scaleless Summer weeks 6-8 were meh, eating was just ok and workouts were blah.

So here we are, 9 weeks in and just 4 weeks left until the end of my Scaleless Summer. This month has given me a lot of time to think about my past, to focus on what my goals are, and to get to a place where I just have to do it.

The truth of the matter is you are in charge and in control of what you eat and when/how you workout. I still stand firm that every person has to find what works best for them (counting calories, Weight Watchers, Paleo, etc.) but what it boils down to is that YOU JUST HAVE TO DO IT.

So what exactly am I doing?

1. I am creating a weekly plan, which includes lunch plans, dinner plans, and workout plans.

2. I am logging my food intake in order to stay on track with my goals. Remember, the brain/stomach sometimes think you need way more than your body actually needs to function at it’s finest.

3. I am working out and looking for more venues to push myself (more on that later).

4. I am staying open my with husband about my goals and my dreams. You have to have a positive support system.

5. I am staying positive and pushing forward.

Take a look at this week’s plan for example…

Lunch

Dinner

Workout

Monday

Leftover brown rice and veggies, yogurt, and apple

BBQ pork tenderloin salad

Spin

Tuesday

Veggie burger on Ezekiel bread, yogurt, and grapes

Neal night: healthy buffalo chicken salad

2 mile run

Wednesday

Progresso soup, Ezekiel bread, and grapes

Grilled chicken salad with bell peppers

Treadmill or Elliptical for @ least 30 minutes

Thursday

Lunch meeting

Grilled chicken salad with salsa and corn

Spin

Friday

Veggie burger on Ezekiel bread, yogurt, and an apple

Steak and blue cheese salad

Rest

It’s a wonderful plan, but the key is sticking to it. Take today for instance, I am ti-red! Would I love to just go home at the end of the day and watch TV with Neal? YES! But I know that going to spin is a key to losing weight. In the same way it would be easy for Neal and I just to grab dinner at a restaurant instead of eating at home, but will that get me closer to my goal? Probably not as much as sticking to my plan does. (Also note that this week is “salad week” in our house. We don’t always eat salads all week for dinner… just something fun we’re doing.)

In the end I am scared to see what the scale will say in 5 weeks (excited scared), but I know that if I just follow through and continue to make the best decisions for myself and my body that the end result will be great! After that I’ll return to weekly weigh-ins and will continue to work hard to reach my goals.

Comments

I love that you do scaleless summers. One day I’d like to try this.
My summer has been ok diet-wise, but I know I could’ve done a lot better. It also could’ve been so much worse! I really need to make a plan like yours and stick to it. I like how open you are with Neal about all of this. I have a real hard time talking to my boyfriend about my weight loss and it’s something I really need to work on :s

Omg I love that picture of you & your dress!!! Stunning! Princess fairy tale stuff!!! I can’t even focus on the rest of your post!! Lol. Having a plan is sooo key — but you’re right – what counts is sticking to it!

Awesome, Ash! Ever think about just ditching the scale for good? I haven’t gotten on mine in over a month- but more so because I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be happy with the number and it’s not worth ruining my day over. :)
I love your ‘week of salads’ idea. We should do that (and would probably save money!). I’d have to stop eating a salad for lunch every day so it wouldn’t be overkill.

This is so incredible! I can’t imagine avoiding the scale for that long… I always gain weight in the summer (vacations, parties, late nights) and lose weight once school starts again. A scaleless summer might be something I need to try in the future. I really, really love this idea!! : ).

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Hey Y’all

I'm Ashley. I'm a southern girl who is working to live a healthy and balanced life in Washington, DC. I love coffee, day planners, spin classes, wildflowers, margaritas, breakfast tacos, and most of all, being a wife and mother.